Nielsen's panel-based, representative tracker of 300+ million Americans had surprising results about US watching habits.
In the age of Netflix and Amazon Prime, cable and broadcast still account for 64% of total viewing in the United States. In contrast, streaming represents only 26% of viewing in the country. Interestingly, Netflix holds the dominant position in the streaming sector, with 6% of the total TV viewing slice.
These numbers indicate an apparent disconnect between perception and reality. CNN's Brian Stelter explained, "Streaming might take up three-fourths of the media world's attention, but right now it's only one-fourth of viewership time."
Stelter further added that streaming could cannibalise the TV sector in the future, but that future is far away for now. Similarly, Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings said, "Stream team needs to up its game."
[2 minute read]
